Advise on SO-IUI vs IVF?

[haze1ine]

Ruru Cat
So if our eggs grow faster, then better lah? No wonder my 2nd IUI no hope... cos I took abt 2 wks of jab.. then only manage 1 at 18mm. So maybe that one quality no good lor.

My 1st time I took abt a wk's jab, got 2 nos abt 22mm. Shd be very high chance but stil... fail leh.

Mus be very excited for u... akan datang leh! One thing abt IUI n IVF, is that u know the results very soon lor.. a bit scary.

strawbearbi
Dun worry... hope the extra dosage wil giv u more boost!

 

[felixcat]

hi strawbearbi,

are you taking tcm med? i was taking clomid for 5 days and then tcm med after that to 'grow' the eggs. and they grew! by d12, they were 21mm. the largest i've seen since i started my iui journey. so i believe tcm med works!

i'll be taking clomid again if i fail the current cycle and will definitely be taking the tcm medicine again. next time, my gynae wants to scan on d10 since it grew so fast the last time.

not sure if you can take tcm med if you do injections but you can check with the doc.

all the best to you!

 

[strawbearbi]

Hi haze1ine, thks for the encouragement!!
Hi felixcat, i'm not taking tcm medication coz really can't stand it. The nurse told me better dun take chinese medicine so i tink i better listen to the advice lor. But your egges grew really fast leh. Do you think your eggs grew so fast due to clomid? I thought clomid is used to induce ovulation. I was on a few cycles of clomid and had no reaction to it so stopped that.
Frankly I did think abt tcm but I think i wanna try a full cycle of IUI first before adding on other treatments.
Crossing my fingers & toes man!!

 

[ruru_cat]

Dear Hazeline,

Don't over-analyse the IUI result lah. There are alot of unknowns in IUI, the sperm timing and quality, the vaginal mucus thickness and PH (too thick and PH too high can kill sperms), whether follicles contain egg yolk anot, womb lining thickness maintenance thru'out 2ww, the implantation process etc.

Hi, Strawbearbi,

Don't be too worried (yah, I know it is easy to say but how not to be not excited and anxious right?). On my 2nd SO-IUI, i have an even more roller-coaster experience. My two dominant follicles on my right ovary disappeared during the 3rd scan and I almost died on the examination table from heart attack. Then during 4th scanning, 2 potential follicles appeared on left ovary and by 5th scanning, 4 follicles all appeared. But alas, 4 follicles also can't make it. That is why I turn to IVF.

 

[felixcat]

hi strawbearbi,

it's definitely not the clomid. my previous 4 clomid cycles also didn't produce same results.

the follicles were max 15-17 mm.

the only difference in this cycle is the tcm medicine so i'm very sure the growth is due to that. i had 2 follicles this cycle, one was 21mm and the other one 20mm.

i don't like the taste either but i just imagine in my head that the follicles are growing as i drink the medicine.

 

[strawbearbi]

Thks Ru_ru cat, I wish you all the luck for your IVF. Will try to stay positive. As you said, easier said then done. But still gotta try my best =)

 

[strawbearbi]

Hi felixcat, where do you go for the tcm? Is it expensive? maybe i should consider if this round fail...

 

[haze1ine]

felixcat
woah.. TCM is doing u good hor... hopefully this time u can strike!

Ruru cat, strawbearbi
Talking abt 'disappearing' follicles.. I wonder why too. Cos I do hv smaller ones n my gynae like dun bother abt those cos he say they wum mature fast enuff. And true enuff, they jus disappeared in the later scans! Only the bigger ones r stil there lor.

Initally, i wanted to go straight into IVF. Cos I dun want to waste time. But my gynae suggested I try SO-IUI 1st, dun jump straight into IVF.

So I hope u ladies hv success in IUI..

 

[felixcat]

strawbearbi,

i'm seeing dr tan at clementi. the medicine/consultation is around $40 plus i think. have to take it for a few days after finishing the clomid. the medicine is also to help with the lining as clomid will thin the lining. but my lining still the same around 8.5 mm. after the iui, you get another set of medicine (an tai yao) to take until yr af comes ... of course hopefully it won't come lah.

 

[strawbearbi]

hi felixcat, so the medication that helps with the lining actually helps the follicles grow?
clementi damn far for me... maybe i will try to find one nearby my place. i guess for my case will be different coz i'm not on clomid?

 

[vi4n]

so excited to read many of you are going for the IVF and IUI very soon again.

Wish you all good blessing ok.. I hope to read good news from you all.

Btw, Thanks for the CARE info. make me think to stick to either Dr LC Cheng or Dr Paul Tseng but at his TMC clinic. i think i will try my best to talk to my boss for time off for the egg monitoring loh

 

[joyyy]

Hi RuRuCat,

yea, cos this time will be the last SO-IUI le, so I sort of wanted 'all areas' to be covered, hahaha....

you are going for ER next Tuesday! That's very fast. So far, any side effects from the injections? I'm most prob going to have my IUI early next week too. And if it fails, I will start IVF/ICSI in Sept.

My gynae does not do IVF, so she will write a referral letter for me. She told me for IVF, have to be emotionally prepared. Actually I'm very very eager to try. But emotionally wise, I'm not sure if I'm prepared. I was rather upset when the last SO-IUI failed. It took me by surprise, didn't realise that I actually minded it so much.

 

[felixcat]

hi strawbearbi,

according to my doc, it's supposed to thicken the lining AND make the follicles grow. in my case, the growth was very obvious but not the thickening of lining.

 

[vi4n]

do you wanna try this TCM?
but have to brew the raw herb hoh. but i only take about 1 hr and 40mins to brew it.

Prof Feng Jiayang
Sinchong Meheco LTD
People's Park Centre #02-77
Tel: 65385584/65385586

Tue 1.30 - 6pm
Wed 5.30 - 8.40pm
Thu 5.30 - 8.40pm
Fri 1.30 - 6pm
Sat 10 - 2pm
Sun 10 - 6.30pm

Or you can go to the TCM Ruru went to Xia Rong at Eu Yan Sang Paragon.

 

[ruru_cat]

Hi Joyy,

Yes, the injection period for IVF is shorter, around 10-12days of injection only as the dosage is higher. Hmm, I was also like you when my first SO-IUI failed, very upset and over-analysing what could have went wrong and when the 2nd round also fails, sianz liao. Whole person really in a low mood.

The only thing I don't like about the IVF so far is the 21days of oral contraceptive pills consumption. I get bad mood swings where I get angry and upset (shed tears) over small things, and I told my husband that when a woman eat this birth control pill, she don't get pregnant not because the pill blocks ovulation but because the pill kills her sex drive totally. I am so like a nun for the past 1 month, unbelieveable man!

Hmm, regarding side effects from injection, no leh, just the normal black-blue on the injection site (same as SO-IUI). Hmm, your gynae says be prepared emotionally, I wonder what aspect she means. Maybe what she meant is that IVF is a huge gamble ($15k, 1 stake, 1 game) so if not successful, then the woman can't take it?

But please note that each gynae has different IVF protocol so the use of drugs and timing are all different. I am on 21days oral contraceptive pills, then start Lucrin injection for 4 days, then concurrent Lucrin and Puregon. Some ladies just inject Lucrin for few weeks, then Puregon only.

I did wrote about the differences and similarities of IVF vs SO-IUI in this thread (archive posting). Can refer to it when you are free to have a better idea of what IVF consist of (both the IVF paperwork and procedure-wise).

Hi ladies,

I think Felixcat is right. After eating the medicine from Eu Yan Sang and accupunture, I feel much better physically leh. Not sure about follicle growth, will be doing the measurement in my 2nd scan tomorrow. My womb thickness is already 7mm (8mm is the ideal size) on the 5th day of injection, so i guess the TCM does help somehow.

 

[haze1ine]

Ruru Cat
I jus replied u in the other forum.. abt the injection I took. It's Lucrin also leh! haha

I thk it's the Lucrin jab that makes ur womb lining ideal... but TCM does hv it's benefits.

I duno why my TCM sinseh told me this, that I'm not responding to TCM herbs n I shd stop. I took it for half a yr... non-stop, did everything she told me to do, wot to eat, wot not to eat. But stil, aft a numerous blood test, she say I'm not responding at all and suggest I take a break.

 

[joyyy]

Hi RuRuCat,
thks for the infor. Hmm, I think I would prefer taking the contraceptive pills for 21 days then inject Lucrin for few weeks. Oh, the normal blue-black is when you poke a blood vessel. I usually try to make a mental note on location of safe spots to inject (no prior bursting of blood vessel spots).

Hmm reg the emotionally prepared issue, my gynae meant the part when menses came (unsuccessful IVF)and most patients would break down...cos while there are many successful stories, there are also unsuccessful stories. In that sense, she wanted me to be able to cope with such before proceeding to IVF.

The medicine from Eu Yan Sang is good? My hubby got me a bottle of Eu Yan Sang 'Bak Foong Pill', asked if I wana try. 8 bucks a small bottle...got to take everyday or every alternate day. But seems like for menstrual problem like that, so I didn't take.

Lan Xing Mei (Taiwan singer/actress/Mc), she just got pregnant via IVF with donated sperm. She's 42, single.

 

[ruru_cat]

Dear Joyy,

Yah, I just read the news about Lan Xing Mei and I told my HB people 42 years old, 1st time IVF can succeed, if she is not lucky then what right?

I am seeing the EYS fertility clinic at Paragon - Dr Xia Rong, for TCM consultation.

Hmm, but the disappointment from IVF is the same as IUI (when you see blood in your panties), just magnified by the heartpain of losing $15k. How do we know how to cope? Every cycle we hope for the best. I think if Govt subsides fertility treatment, then heartpain not so much, more ladies will try IVF or try more rounds.

 

[felixcat]

hi ladies,

i think the govt will give some subsidies for fertility treatment. but won't be surprise if they limit it to using at public hospital - taking from left pocket and put in the right.

of course, i would love it for them to prove me wrong.

 

[haze1ine]

I hope the govt wun jus subsidise for public hospital! Their med is already much cheaper liao.. & I've heard some horror stories. Not that all docs or nurses r the same but if u suay kana, then u'll forever be tramatised by that incident lor.

My problem is the S-11 factor. If I dun hv to worry abt that, I dun mind keep trying til I hv a child. The heartache, I thk a bit immune liao aft so many years...

Jus let us use our medisave is good enuff lah. Dun limit amt or no. of times. Medisave is our own $ mah...

By the way, can only claim from the wife's medisave once ah? Wot abt the hubby one? Or can claim once from each acct?

I a bit confused.. I read some say can claim 6K, 4K & 2K... some even say can claim for IUI! But I dun thk so leh... where got so good.

 

[strawbearbi]

hi ladies, it's so true what Ru_ru cat says, how do we know how to cope? Monetary or emotionally, it's definitely not easy... let's hope we at least get some monetary help.

Btw, this Dr Xia Rong is the lady who always appear on tv for those TCM programs one ??

 

[strawbearbi]

haze1ine, regarding medisave, we are allowed 3 claims per couple (either wife or husband). $6k, $5k, $4k. For either IUI or IVF, but for IUI not encouraged coz even if you claim $1.5k, it is considered as 1st claim already, so u lugi on the $4.5k difference for the $6k limit for first claim. Dat's why it's not encouraged.

 

[haze1ine]

strawbearbi
Oh.. u mean can claim 3x... in that order of amt? Let's say if 1st time I claim 6K, then 2nd time my DH claim.. it's 5K not 6K, rite? They go by per couple n not per pax?

No wonder some say can claim IUI & I wonder how they claim.

6K... private gynae wil cost abt 12-15K... so I stil hv to pay up a big chunk leh. Aiyoh...

And some stil tell me 1st time fully subsidised.. I guess they went public hospital.. cheaper.. that's why can fully subsidise.

 

[strawbearbi]

hi haze1ine,

yes can claim 3xs only and in that order. For the 2nd claim the max will be $5k lor, not $6k. And it's per couple.
exactly coz IVF costs so much more, dats why not encouraged to claim for IUI unless u very sure dat 3 times settle all ur bb issues and dun need to claim anymore.
Erm I going KKIVF leh but there's no subsidy at all. Even those invoices i scrutinise the charges, there are no subsidies... unless is not reflected there lah. I got ask the nurse b4 and she also say no subsidy, only can claim medisave lor. Wonder where got fully subsidise for 1st time...

 

[haze1ine]

strawbearbi
I thk ur med there wil be cheaper.. puregon at least. I rem comparing price b4 with someone doing IUI at kkh for puregon.. it's almost half price.

But I hv a choice n I choose to go private lah. So I hv to bear with the additional cost. Bopian.. jus hope more help comes my way.

Nvm where lah.. I thk most imp is we get wot we want in the end... a healthy child.

And hope u get good news for ur scan 2molo... got big big follicles growing in there now hor!

 

[strawbearbi]

hi haze1ine, agree...most impt is we can get what we want.
I also hoping for good news tomolo too. =)
btw, this sunday's rally will start from 6.45pm, dun forget to catch it!
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/367942/1/.html

 

[ruru_cat]

Hi Haze1ine,

I checked with my gynae today during my 2nd scanning and she said yes, Lucrin can help to relieve the PCOS symptoms but she won't recommend it unless the lady wants to try her cycles naturally. If the lady does IVF (like me), she says the poking of ovary to retrieve the eggs are the same as ovarian drilling so more long-lasting and better results than injecting Lucrin.

Now I know why some couples got pregnant after stopping IVF. We keep thinking it is becos the couple give up hope and so no pressure so ganna jackpot. It could be the lady is PCOS and her ovary got better after the "poking" and she can ovulate naturally. My gynae says she has many cases where the PCOS patients got pregnant naturally after a failed round of IVF.

Oh, about the eggs grading qn you ask in the IVF/ICSI thread, KKH grading is different from private hosp. KKH is Grade 1-5, with 5 being the best. Mt E is Grade 1, 1/2, 3, with Grade 1 being the best.

Oh, and for ICSI costing qn - please note that ICSI is optionally in KKH i.e u have to opt in but for Mt E, you need to opt out i.e. if you don't want, you have to say or else the lab will perform ICSI for your eggs. The price difference is around $1k i think (I can't remember very well).

Abit weird answering your qn in this thread but I don't want you to be confused as most of the ladies in the other thread are in KKH or NUH so the protocol is different. You don't get confused meh? The 1st time when I read the IVF thread and realized nobody is on oral contraceptive pills, I got so confused I called up my gynae's nurse to double-checked.

 

[ruru_cat]

Dear Hazeline,

My honest opinion of ICSI (using a needle to insert the sperms into the egg) vs IVF (putting the eggs and sperms in a petri dish and let the eggs naturally fertilised) is not a possible luxury for PCOS ladies.

Can you imagine we only have very few good-quality eggs and we actually so-called "waste" them on a gamble? Some women says that if using the IVF method doesn't work, i.e. the egg shells are "too hard" for the sperm to penetrate, then at least they know what is wrong with them. But knowing and curing is two different matters right?

Today my gynae says she should be retrieving around 40 eggs from my ovaries but only around 10 eggs will be of normal size (let's not even talk about egg quality!) so I am so not going to let the chief embryologist "experiment" with my eggs man!

I hope you won't be like me and has many many good-quality eggs.

Btw, who is the gynae you are consulting with?

 

[joyyy]

Hi RuRu Cat,
gosh, 40 EGGS??!!! If disregard the sizes, the total number of eggs is awesome! Do you feel bloated? Maybe can ask gynae give 1 or 2 more days for the rest of 30 eggs to grow bigger? Will have more 'reserve/stock'.

Reg IVF and ICSI, my gynae told me IVF is a term used loosely. In most cases, is actually ICSI. If less than 10 eggs, usually will do ICSI. If more than 10 eggs, some will be left to be fertilised naturally, some will be ICSI.

My gnae said it's good for the sperms to do some work. I dont understand, and find it hard to agree. I also feel, why take chances after spending so much $. Just inject the sperms into the egg lah, then maybe the sperms don't have to do so much work (breaking into the shell), can shake legs (tails) and develope in2 healthy embies.

My theory lah... Since IVF is already a shortcut to treat our fertility problem, then might as well shortcut all the way. Don't gamble with luck.

 

[haze1ine]

RuRu Cat & joyyy
haha... I do get very confused at the other forum. Cos all the ladies r in diff stages of IVF.. and yes.. I do realised most of them did theirs at KKH. And there's too many of them there... so their threads all very confusing.

My gynae is Dr Fong at Paragon. He does his IVF at Mt E. So I thk most likely, wil be similar to urs. I wun know my IVF 'cocktail' til I c him nex Sat (which is like taking forever!). I can't get an earlier Sat appt cos I want my DH to be there and it's very diff to get him to come with me on a wkday.

I do want to know as much as possible b4 I meet him so I can ask the right questions. I wil ask him abt the poking thing.. c if he does it for ppl with PCOS. I thk my 1st gynae lagi hopeless, nv do anything n straight away, giv me clomid!

Woah.. 40 eggs r a lot! But of course, like u said, it's the quality that counts. I do hope u succeed!

I always doubt my egg quality. So I can only find out aft I did a round of IVF if that's really my main problem.

I read somewhere that some ppl hv harder egg shells, that's making it very diff for the sperm to penetrate. So ICSI is recommended.

I also dun want to waste time n chances... I not young anymore leh! If ICSI has a higher success percentage, I might opt for that.

 

[felixcat]

dear ruru cat,

40 eggs! you must be feeling very bloated! when are you doing ER? they still hv some more time to grow?

did you take any tcm medicine this time? or did yr gynae advise against it? i hope you'll succeed at the 1st try!

 

[strawbearbi]

Hi ladies, got a qn - for IUI, how long is the "growth" period for the follicles before we have to give up?
I'm already on D10 of injections liao but today's scan revealed only 2 biggest 9.5mm follicles, doc asked me to increase dosage to 150IU Puregon and go back to scan again tomorrow morning.
Feeling a bit disappointed...=(

 

[felixcat]

hi strawbearbi,

i think the growth is abt 2mm per day. so it depends on when's yr ovulation i guess. if u ovulate D14, then u hv 4 more days to 'grow' the follicles - around 8mm. dun worry too much. if you increase dosage, may grow even faster than 2mm per day.

cheer up!

 

[strawbearbi]

felixcat, u see, my first scan on wednesday morning already got 1 9.5mm follicle (the biggest), so increase dosage to 100IU for wednesday & thursday. On friday today, only got 2 9.5mm follicles. Does that mean the first one didnt grow any bigger even with the increase in dosage? Sorry, I think i should have asked the gynae just now but I wasn't in the right frame of mind... juz tot of these qns.

 

[ruru_cat]

Dear ladies,

Ehh, I only felt bloated from yesterday nite. This morning wakes up, the stomach quite big leh. Scared man, wait it is OHSS early symptoms so I better up my intake of protein drink to 2 glasses today onwards.

No lah, PCOS ladies eggs are all mimi-mimi ones, so that is why can have so many eggs lah. My gynae prefers to do the ER next mon/tues. She don't want the 10 good-size eggs to wait for the 30 immature eggs becos the longer you wait, the "older" the eggs become, so lower-quality.

My gynae didn't stop me from going to TCM, so I have been taking my TCM medicine and accupunture twice weekly faithfully for the past 5 weeks. My TCM physican says to stop accupunture once I undergo ER all the way to 2ww and just eat the TCM medicine.

Ehh, Hazeline,

The poke-poke thing is a must in IVF for the gynae to draw out the follicles from the ovaries lah, yours and my gynae does it for all IVF patients lah. It is just that this poking seems to be very beneficial to woman with PCOS condition (as it is similar to ovarian drilling), that's all.

Anyway, I am just comforting myself that in case my IVF fails, I may be able to do natural cycle on my own. Woah!!

Hi Strawbearbi,

Don't worry, for both my SO-IUI, I had 15 and 16 days of injections respectively. As this is your 1st SO-IUI, your gynae is not very sure of the dosage to give u to get a good positive so that is why u have to experiment with the dosage and see him/her so often for scanning. Once the right "trigger" dosage is found, your eggs should grow around 1.5-2mm daily. Hmm, if by tomorrow's scan, you see around 11-11.5mm, then should be on track. As long as mon's scan shows the eggs around 13mm, then you should be able to have your IUI mid-week.

Don't worry too much about the "growth period", there is no standard good period. Some ladies are ready for IUI by D10, some like me have "lazy eggs", so it is alright.

But a point to note is that your 150IU is actually the starting dosage for IVF ladies, so you need to monitor your body for possible OHSS symptoms ok? (I am on 200IU)

I am going for my 3rd scan tomorrow also, best of luck to both of us.

 

[felixcat]

hmmm, don't really know the reason. think the growth rate of the follicles are different. so the estimate of 2mm per day is just, an estimate. this is the rough growth rate that the doc told me. so maybe yr 1st follicle stopped growing? and the increase dosage stimulated growth of 2nd one?

if you further increase yr dosage, maybe more follicles will appear and the ones at 9.5mm will grow faster. there's no need to go into too much details as we really don't know what actually happened and what's going to happen.

eat well and relax. take an egg everyday. i read somewhere that it helps the egg grow - something like 'yi3 xing2 bu3 xing2'.

 

[strawbearbi]

Ru_ru cat, thks for your explanation, I feel much better now. Will take felixcat's advice eat an egg everyday. I guess it's more of the protein that helps??
Good luck to all u ladies!

 

[haze1ine]

strawbearbi
My 2 SO-IUI hv very diff reactions. The 2nd time very retard... even with increase dosage... also duno why. And I thk I took abt 15 jabs, twice more than the 1st time n also only got one good sized follicle at 18mm.

So it's really very diff to predict how ur body wil react.

Mus stay +ve, ok? Always rub ur tummy.. say mummy waiting for u! hehe

RuRu Cat
Woah.. good to feel bloated! Some told me like 5 mths pregnant tummy leh!

Oh.. so u're stil taking a lot of other stuff.. TCM n acup. Maybe they do help.

haha... they always say it's God's way of testing us. They let miracle happen when u giv up.. so u'll appreciate it more. Let's hope we all get miracles!

R u resting at home? Or u working?

 

[ruru_cat]

Hi Strawbearbi,

Yes, if you can, eat 2 egg whites (no egg yolk needed) in anyway u like it, hardboiled, half-boiled etc. Or if too troublesome for u, u can buy protein powder from supermarket. U can buy brands such as Ensure or Complan. Complan is thicker and sweeter, ensure is more watery and little bit sweet, so u can choose which type u prefer.

Or if you don't like this type of drinks, no time for egg boiling, can buy individual pack of protein drink from GNC (like normal packet drink with straw attached)to drink also can. Somemore got mocha flavour!

Hi Haze1ine,

I am working until today. Then I take mon off (in case ER is on tuesday) and MC for the rest of the week but I will be returning to work next monday if I feel fine and no physical discomfort and pain.

 

[ruru_cat]

Hi Strawbearbi,

Regarding ur qn about y after increase dosage and y the initial 9.5mm egg don't grow and the other 9.5mm egg appear - this is the tricky part of using the right dosage and how the ovary shares the medication.

If in the early stage, there is only 1 dominant egg then very easy, the medication is only for this "alpha" egg. As in your case, u have 2-3 eggs growing at the same time, and dosage is not enough for all three to grow consistently, so the rate of growth is uneven.

With your gynae prescribing 150iu, I think you don't have to worry much about tomorrow's scan, in fact at the end before IUI, maybe u have 3-4 follicles at good size.

For me, my 1st SO-IUI is one dominant egg, then 2nd SO-IUI is 2 at first (slow growth also), then they disappeared (yah, disappeared!!), then finally 4 follicles (also slow growth).

Jia You and don't over-analyze the situation ok? Tomorrow scan sure no problem one!

 

[haze1ine]

RuRu Cat
I thk it's good to take off the day b4... else work also very stress! I rem my doc gave me MC to rest b4 my 2nd IUI attempt.. and I did feel so much better, stil got mood to do pedi! Then when I do my IUI, c my pretty toenails, like very happy like that! haha

But try to rest more lah.. else u go back, if kana a lot of work, also wil be very stress leh. Esp u c wot those ladies say abt the ending of ww2, all like super stress like that.

Can drink Anlene? I like the chocolate one..

This protein powder, is it the same as those bodybuilding type of protein?? Cos I know GNC has a lot of those... haha

Thk low sugar better, cos we hv PCOS, better dun take so sweet stuff.

Strawbearbi
I rem I was worried abt my dosage.. if I'm jabbing too much. But my gynae said, some ladies ned up to 400IU daily! So our dosage is stil consider little compared to them lor.

 

[felixcat]

ruru cat,

when you take the tcm medicine, is it concurrently with the injections? yr gynae's so nice to give mc after the er. i tot they only give 2 weeks mc after et.

 

[haze1ine]

Talking abt MC, I read in the other thread.. she said TMC, if ask for hospitalisation leave, ned to pay more! Why like that... shdn't be wot.

Anyway, if u can, actually take hospitalisation leave better. Cos I thk we hv longer hospitalisation. For MC, quite limited.

 

[strawbearbi]

Thanks to all you dear gals for your reassurance. I feel much better now, and hopeful for tomorrow's scan. I hope I have good news to share with u gals =)
Just now lunch time already eat egg white liao, so hopefully got "bu" already.

 

[joyyy]

hi ladies,
my follicles also not growing this time round. Last SO-IUI, i use only 50IU of puregon. This cycle, I have increased from 50IU to 75IU, still not growing. Now have to increase to 100IU. My gynae asked if I wana consider ovarian drilling. She gave a term for my condition, I forgot what it was le. I was quite surprised to know I have 20 over eggs leh, but all mini mini, no dominant follicles. This cycle duno can do IUI not, cos no big follicle till now.

 

[haze1ine]

joyyy
Isn't that wot RuRu Cat was talking abt... the drilling thing? Do u hv PCOS too?

U went to the same gynae as her? Hmm... really mus ask abt this drilling thing nex time I c mine.

Mus go check my 'bible'... I hvn't been so diligently reading it for the past few nites.. hv been following the olympics.

Dun worry, maybe increase dosage, u'll get a few good ones.

 

[ruru_cat]

Hi, Joyy,

Hmm, if your gynae suggest ovarian drilling then you must have PCOS. Me same condition as you, for my IVF scan, I have 40 eggs, but same as u, 30 are mini mini leh. Only around 10 eggs are normal size.

Don't need go for ovarian drilling lah, go for IVF becos my gynae says during the ER procedure, she will poke our ovaries to draw out the follicles, and this process of poking holes in our ovaries is similar to ovarian drilling and she has PCOS patients who conceive naturally after their 1st failed round of IVF.

For the price of one, you can get a higher chance of pregnancy (SO-IUI 20%, IVF 40%) and treatment for our PCOS condition. Good deal leh!

 

[mystyy]

Hi ladies,

Wow! It's been so many days since I last logged in. Ruru is it really true that some ladies got preggie after failed first IVF attempt? Is there any website that I can get that info from? I had done ovarian drilling and had a failed first attempt. I am trying naturally now (just trying my luck) before my FET in September. I just hope that my menses didn't come and trying naturally will be a success...then can save money heheh...

 

[joyyy]

Hi Hazeline and RuRu Cat,
I'm not sure if is PCOS, but I think so ba. My gynae said my conditions seem to indicate poly-something-disease... hahaha, sorry, really cannot remember the term. I think is PCOS lah.

Yeah, I told my gynae I heard (RuRu Cat's entry) during ER for IVF, the retrieval of eggs is similar to ovarian drilling. My gynae did explain the difference, but well, it doesn't matter, I'm not doing ovarian drilling, it sounds scary. Will go IVF, kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

My next scan is next Tues, hopefully got at least 1 follicle for IUI.

I've a hunch there will be more subsidy given for those TTC, or increase in usage of medisave for IVF, come this Sun's speech. Past 2 days, there were quite a number of write ups on pregnancy issues and IVF.

HI Mystyy,
you had ovarian drilling ah? Then do you manage to ovulate on your own now?

 

[ruru_cat]

Hi Mystyy,

My gynae mentioned it during one of our consultation. I think she is trying to moderate my expectation of the IVF and also to give me hope that I may recover from my PCOS condition and ovulate naturally.

May I know how much is the cost of the surgery? Have to be hospitalised or day surgery? Did ur gynae tells you how long the effect of surgery will last (becos endo surgery is short-term only, so I asked)? How long did u rest after the surgery before attempting your first IVF?

Yes, I wish u good luck that you will be one of the ladies who can overcome PCOS condition and have a natural baby!

Hi Joyy,

Can u share what your gynae tells you is the difference betw ovarian drilling and ER? Why do u say ovarian drilling sounds scary?